HOST BODIES

Medium: multi-disciplinary installation: video, monitor(s), projector, custom pet AirTag keychains, plexi voting box, and custom stickers.

My multidisciplinary artworks investigate how ideology and alternative realities impact truth. On September 1st, Texas Senate Bill 8 (aka The Heartbeat Bill) became law, banning abortion at 6 weeks and relying on private citizen enforcement through civil lawsuits. Sexism is interwoven into systemic discrimination as extremist politicians refer to women as “host bodies.”

Apple AirTags become repurposed into HOST BODIES, altering their function. An AirTag is a tracking device designed to help people find personal objects. Four individuals were mailed a HOST BODY AirTag to keep, send back, recycle, dismantle, destroy, or discard. Personal autonomy is a private choice. The artworks’ journey is documented through a multi-media installation, respecting boundaries and privacy.

In the physical exhibition, returned HOST BODIES are displayed in custom pet AirTag keychains and tracked live on screen. Common shipping label stickers with the phrase “HANDLE WITH CARE FRAGILE THANK YOU” become repurposed within an open voting box. All United States ballots have unique numbers that can be tracked to a voter. A few stickers are labeled HOST BODY representing how special interests co-opt choice for perverse power. Viewers become participants, with the option to take or leave a sticker and engage in democracy.